Posttraumatic stress Disorder (PTSD) can occur when a person has experienced a traumatic event in which there was an actual or perceived threat of death or injury to themselves or another. People with PTSD often re-live the traumatic event through nightmares, intrusive dreams, flashbacks, or by becoming agitated and/or hypervigilant around anniversaries or other dates that might symbolize the event. PTSD can occur following events such as natural disasters, war, assault, domestic abuse, neglect and abandonment, or rape. Many people experience these events. It is natural to feel afraid during and after a scary situation. This fear triggers changes in the body and central nervous system, which helps the body defend itself against danger, or to avoid it. This is the “flight-or-fight” response. Nearly everyone will experience a range of physical, emotional, or behavioral reactions after a trauma has occurred, yet most people recover from initial symptoms naturally. People are designed to cope with the stressors and traumas of life but when we are overwhelmed by traumatic events the anxiety and fear may be suppressed in our nervous system.
Some symptoms accompanying PTSD are often as follows:
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Feeling as though you are reliving the event through intrusive dreams, dissociation, nightmares, and/or flashbacks
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Body sensations that accompanied the event (i.e., fear, anxiety and distress, helplessness)
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Efforts to avoid the distressing event (avoiding talking about the event, avoiding people, places, and things that remind them of the event)
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Difficulty sleeping
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Hypervigilance or exaggerated response in behavior
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Anger or irritability
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Negative beliefs about oneself
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Distorted perception about oneself, others, or the world
The treatments for PTSD are evidence based, short term, and extremely effective. Our staff has completed training in order to deliver these treatments as intended.
Specific Treatments Include: